Roommate Lost and Remembered
by CNJ
Summary: In the 2nd year in college, Kristy copes with the death of her roommate, Uharu Jakara. She, Mary Anne, Mona, Ran, & Shane try to find a way to honor & remember their dear friend while moving on from the tragedy. Completed!
1. The Loss

This takes place in the BSC's second year of college. It's mainly a BSC story, but there is a slight crossover with Shane Arrington, who is a creation of Betsy Haynes from the Fabulous Five and Ran (Rowena) Zak, who is a creation of Ms. Blair, author of the teen series Girl Talk. Also, Randy Kirwan and Jana Morgan, as I've mentioned before, are solely a creation of Betsy Haynes, not the current author. It also takes place at the same time that Connecticut U. is having its scandal that Logan, along with Jana and Randy, becomes embroiled in (have you all read my story _Homecoming Scandal_?). So, read, enjoy, and of course, review away! 

**Roommate Lost And Remembered**

_By_: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**1: The Loss**

**Kristy**: 

It was good getting away on this ski weekend. I didn't want to go at first because of my roommate, Uharu Jakara. She had been having more trouble with her heart this January, but seemed better these past few weeks. New York City, where my friends, Mary Anne Spier, Mona Vaughn, Ran Zak, Uharu Jakara, and I lived and were college students, had gotten a big snowstorm in early February. It was almost a foot and we figured that upstate New York must have over a foot of snow. Uharu had assured me that she'd be all right, but wasn't up to joining us. Anyway, she said she'd be visiting her parents over this long weekend in late February. So, skiing with me here in the mountains were Mary Anne, Mona, Ran, and my boyfriend, Shane Arrington. It was a neat trip for the most part. I was skiing the medium-advanced slopes. Soon, I'll be ready for the really advanced in a year or two. From the top of the hill, I could see Mary Anne ski down toward the bottom. Mona had already skied down and was near the main cabin, chatting with Ran and Shane. I smiled a little as I started down and saw Mary Anne accidentally bump into another skier. She's a good skier, but isn't the most coordinated person around. Once I got to the bottom at top speed, I noticed Mary Anne's eyes were wide as she brushed snow out of her hair and seemed to be in a hurry to get away from whoever she bumped into.   
"Ex-cuse me..." I heard her mutter and she seemed a bit nervous.   
"Heeey, Mary Anne!" I called and she slowly tread her way over to me. "Hey, did you recognize that person or something from the past?" I laughed. Mary Anne turned slightly red.   
"Actually, yes," she cleared her throat. "Randy Kirwan, from Burkeview."   
"Oh, yesss, I remember," I nodded. He'd gone to our rival high school, Burkeview and if I remember correctly, had been part of the BIG clique there. I knew he and Mary Anne had never hit it off the few times that they'd met. From what I'd seen of Randy, he was a little hard to take. And another thing I remembered as we headed toward the cabin was that Randy had been dating the same girl since sixth grade and they act like a junior Ozzie and Harriet. Was it Jenna...something Morgan, but she also was in the Big clique that used to dominate Burkeview too. I wondered if they were in college around here. Once Shane and Mona joined us, I asked if they remembered a Randy Kirwan.   
"Yes," they both spoke up simultaneously and we laughed a little. Then Ran joined us. Mona had gone to Burkeview High until the beginning of eleventh grade, then transferred to Stoneybrook High. Shane, on the other hand, had gone to the middle school Mona and Randy had gone to, but after eighth grade graduation, his family moved to Massachusetts and he went to Stateland High there. Ran had gone to a high school in Minnesota, so she wouldn't know who Randy was. "I wonder if he's still with Jana Morgan," Mona mused. Jana Morgan. That was his girlfriend's name. I wondered if he was still with her too. I could see the sun peering out from the clouds like someone peering through window blinds. It tinged the sky a pretty purplish- magenta and reflected on the snow in a light that only comes in the winter. I hoped we could get a few more rounds of skiing in before it got dark. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"So, she's..." my voice was shaking as I spoke to Uharu's mom over the phone the next afternoon. I couldn't believe Uharu was in the hospital again!   
"I think she's coming close to the end," Uharu's mom let out a rasping sob.   
"Oh, God, oh, God!" My breath left me in a gasp. "I'll be right over there."   
"What about your trip?" she asked.   
"That can w-wait," I told her. Her folks live right around here, so it wouldn't be a long trip, just twenty minutes. "I'll be over there in about a half hour." I clicked the cell closed and ran back to the lodge to pack.   
"Kristy?" Mona came up and looked alarmed.   
"Tell the others Uharu...is back..." Tears welled in my eyes and I shook my head.   
"Oh, my God..." Mona said softly. She came over and gave me a hug.   
"I'll call or be back later on tonight," I told her shakily. "I'm going over to her mom's to see how bad it is..." I threw my things in my overnight bag.   
"You have a ride...?" Mona asked. I nodded and booked out the door and ran all the way down the snow-covered path and onto the cleared road and to the bus stop. Uharu had to be all right...would she be? I worried. I knew her heart condition was serious and had a high chance of being fatal, but now was bringing home the reality that she could die. Oh, hang on, Uharu! I silently begged as I waited for the bus. Hang in there; we all love you, I willed as the bus came and I leaped on, skipping the steps and paid the fare. I just hoped I could see her. 


	2. The Memorial

The usual disclaimers...Jana Morgan, Randy Kirwan, Shane Arrington and Mona Vaughn are the creation of Betsy Haynes, not the current author. And the BSC characters are a creation of Ann Martin, not the current author. Ran Zak is a creation of L.E. Blair, not the current author. The other roommates, etc, are my creation as is the mostly fictional names of the colleges they go to. Enjoy! 

**Roommate Lost And Remembered**

_By_: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**2: The Memorial**

**Shane**: 

Kristy Thomas and I held each other tight as tears streamed down our faces. It was hard to believe that Kristy's roommate, Uharu Jakara, was dead. We'd known she was sick with a heart condition for a long time and was slowly getting worse, but her dying still came as a shock. I walked with Kristy back to the lodge and we continued packing to head home to New York City. On Friday, Uharu would be buried and we'd promised her family we'd be there.   
"Kristy..." a soft voice sounded. We looked up and saw Mary Anne Spier and Mona Vaughn in the doorway. Mona and Mary Anne used to go to Stoneybrook High and are two of Kristy's best friends. Kristy burst into fresh tears and ran over to hug them. All three of them leaned into each other and cried and cried. "Oh, K-Kris..." Mary Anne keened in a high-sounding sob. "I'm...I'm s-so sorry about...Y-y-y-h-hara..."   
"Thank...you..." Kristy wiped her eyes. "I can't believe she's gone." They slowly came over and hugged me, then all four of us stood like that for a long minute.   
"Maybe..." Mona sniffled. "We'd better pack too."   
"Oh, you don't have to..." Kristy started. Then she sort of leaned back when she saw our pleading eyes.   
"Let's all do it for Uharu," Mary Anne hicked, wiping her eyes. We'll pack tonight, then head home to the city tomorrow morning." Mona and I nodded, then we headed slowly out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

I just wanted to head upstairs and get packed, then go to bed early tonight, but when I came into the lodge where Mona and I were staying, I heard laughter on the couch. I tried to move quietly. And to make matters worse, on the couch were two of my least favorite people, Randy Kirwan with Cokie Mason in her lap. I hoped they wouldn't hear me, but luck wasn't on my side tonight because Cokie saw me and her blue eyes widened and she sneered at me, her lip curling upward. "Randy, look at what the cat dragged in..." she snickered. Randy then turned and saw me too.   
"Oh, God..._damn_..." I muttered, bracing myself for their mockery. I wasn't long in coming.   
"What's the matter?" Randy's mouth curved in a mocking smile. "Lost your place in a book?"   
"None of your business, Randy..." I muttered, fresh tears welling in my eyes.   
"Oooooh, it's _none of our business_," Cokie snickered, mimicking my voice and she and Randy cracked up, apparently enjoying my discomfort. I tried not to squirm as I realized that they could see that I'd been crying since my eyes felt red and swollen.   
"Randy..." another voice called and the door opened and in came Randy's longtime girlfriend, Jana Morgan. "Randy, I need you for..." Jana stopped and glared at Cokie, who fell off Randy's lap. "What are you doing here?" Jana demanded of Cokie, who glared back at Jana.   
"Nothing much," Randy told her and moved over to the chair and helped Cokie back up. I grabbed that distraction to head upstairs and booked as quietly as I could. I know Jana saw me, but she didn't say anything and I just continued up the stairs, hoping she didn't see my red eyes. Fat chance, the way my evening was going. I shut the door to my room, locked it and let the tears come again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Shane**: 

All of us tried to be strong for Kristy and Uharu's family. Kristy and Uharu had really been close, so this had devastated Kristy. I'm so glad to have Kristy as a girlfriend; she's really funny, smart, creative and just...well, what you see is what you get with her. I guess since we both love the unconventional, that's what attracted us to each other. Mona and Mary Anne love the unconventional too and I could see why they are good friends. Mary Anne and Mona are roommates at Staten U., which is practically down the street from Fellowdean, where Kristy and I go. Ran Zack, another friend of Kristy's, goes to Fellowdean too. And all five of us love New York City and often go exploring the city together on weekends and vacations. That Monday, we headed back to classes and concentrated the best we could, despite our grief. Then on Friday after classes, all five of us headed back to upstate New York for Uharu's funeral. The Jakaras are Hindu, so the funeral had Hindu themes, but much of it was also secular. Uharu had an older sister as well as her parents and an assortment of aunts, uncles and cousins. The funeral was hard. It reminded me of when my dad was buried the summer after tenth grade way back in high school. He'd died of a heart attack and oh, boy did it hurt! Mom and I had both been crushed and it took us about a year or so to grieve, then move on. I still miss my dad and once in a while I still get this empty feeling in a pang. So does Mom, I can tell. So I could understand some how Kristy must really be hurting now. I could just imagine some of the agony the rest of the Jakaras must be going through. Her poor parents, they must be in worse pain that we were, having to bury their own daughter!   
There was still a lot of slushy February snow outside the funeral home as we rode over to the cemetery and it all looked so bleak. Snow's an odd thing; then times are good, snow is really pretty and bright, but when you've just lost someone, snow looks bleak. Mary Anne pushed up the sleeves of her black jacket and adjusted her sunglasses. I knew she'd been doing a lot of crying in the past week. She and Kristy both had dark sunglasses on. Once we got out of the car, I knew it was windy, but it still felt like a shock. Ran and Mary Anne each held out an arm to steady Kristy and we walked over to the burial plot. As we listened to the undertaker and various friends and relatives of Uharu take turns speaking out, I shivered slightly and tears stung my eyes. Mary Anne said something briefly about Uharu's caring attitude and as she spoke, she broke down crying again, her voice going up in a high squeak as she finished. Then she and Kristy leaned into each other, both of them weeping heavily, their sobs stark in the cold wind. The sound was so awful that it made Ran, Mona, and me cry too. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mona**: 

"This brings back some scary memories," I whispered to Shane as we headed back home to New York City after the burial. I'd rented a car for this funeral and I was driving the five of us back.   
"Yeah," Shane nodded. "It brought back the time when my dad died."   
"Me too." I sat back. My dad had died at the end of my fourth grade year. I could see that Mary Anne and Kristy had a lot more crying to do. They sat in the back with Ran, their sunglasses covering their swollen, red eyes and noses. Once in a while, Mary Anne put a hand over her mouth and sometimes I'd thought she'd start crying again, but somehow we made it home before she did. After I returned the car, the five of us stayed in Kristy's room for the next two nights to help Kristy through the first couple of nights without Uharu.   
"Kristy..." Ran's voice came that night after we'd turned out the lights.   
"Mbmb..." Kristy sniffled.   
"I was wondering..." Ran sat up, her black spiky hair bouncing a little. In some ways, she reminds me of Liza Barry, a girl Shane and I had known back in middle school. Liza had the same dark spiky hair. "Before the dorm people hook you up with another roommate, you want me to be yours?"   
"Yeah, sure..." Kristy sat up also. "But...what about your roommate...what're you going to tell her?"   
"My roommate moved out two weeks ago," Ran told her, "I think she dropped out altogether and won't be back."   
"Oh...thanks...it sounds good. We'd better notify the dorm office tomorrow." Kristy was beginning to sound like her old self somewhat. I knew Kristy is a strong person and she'll survive this awful grief, she and Mary Anne. I suspected that Ran and Kristy would make great roommates.   
  


This story is winding down; I think there'll be one more chapter, maybe an epilogue, then this one will be done! 


	3. Epilogue

This story's winding down; this last chapter is more like an epilogue. Thanks for reviewing away! Enjoy! 

**Roommate Lost And Remembered**

_By_: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**_Epilogue_****__**

**Mona**: 

"I get an e-mail from Claudia," I told Mary Anne, Kristy, Shane, and Ran as we drove toward the New Jersey turnpike on the way down to the Jersey shore where we were spending a weekend that late March.   
"The one where Liza's going to Italy?" Mary Anne asked.   
"That's the one," I confirmed. "She and her friends in the Five R Us are going. They saved a whole wad of cash this year."   
"Hey, they'll have a blast," Kristy opened a bottle of soda and took a swig, then held it up to Mary Anne, who was driving the rental car. Mary Anne took a brief sip with a slurk sound, some of it dripping down her chin. I reached over and wiped her chin off.   
"Thanks," Mary Anne shifted lanes. "It's just like the trip to Germany my family took the winter break of our freshman year." I remembered that trip; her stepmom had won that trip for her whole family. As we drove away from the most congested areas and crossed the toll bridge leading to the New Jersey turnpike, we sang in a rather offbeat, wild way about cutting loose. At the foot of the bridge, Mary Anne grabbed her purse, leaned over to pay the toll, then we were on our way to Atlantic City for the weekend. The weather was slowly turning springlike and we were feeling better than we had in a long time. Slowly, Kristy's heart was healing from losing Uharu and all of us were beginning to pick up the pieces and move on. Mary Anne and Kristy still sometimes cried at night and once in a while Kristy would find a little something that had belonged to Uharu and cry. Ran proved to be a great comfort to Kristy as well as a wonderful roommate. I remembered how back in freshman year, when the 9/11 tragedy hit, Ran had been really distraught and Kristy had been there for her. Now, this time, it was Ran who stood by Kristy and let her cry on her shoulder. All of us did our best to stand by her and she was doing a lot better now, coming back to her old self again. We all still had some mourning to do over Uharu and will always miss her, but slowly the hurt is fading and filling up with many positive memories of how special Uharu was and how part of her would always be with us.   
  
  


~~_Storyline Copyright 2002_ by **CNJ**~~ 


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